The Canucks have had an uneven past when it comes to their first-round draft picks, as most teams have.

Here's a look at the club's 41-year history of first-rounders, in reverse chronological order:

THE GOOD

Luc Bourdon, No. 10, 2005 (fatal motorcycle accident in 2008)

Cory Schneider, No. 26, 2004 (seriously, Giants goalie Marek Schwarz went nine spots higher?)

Ryan Kesler, No. 23, 2003 (who knew?)

Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Nos. 2-3, 1999 (kudos Burkie)

Mattias Ohlund, No. 13, 1994 (per-haps the best D-man in franchise history)

Petr Nedved, No. 2, 1990 (OK, they could have picked Jaromir Jagr, but hindsight's 20-20)

Trevor Linden, No. 2, 1988 (Capt. Canuck)

Garth Butcher, No. 10, 1981 (You can quibble that Al MacInnis went five picks later, but Butcher was the straw that stirred the drink in the trade the brought Cliff Ronning and Geoff Courtnall to Vancouver and, arguably, turned the sorry franchise's fortunes around)

Rick Lanz, No. 7, 1980 (Montreal took Doug Wickenheiser first over-all, so who could argue with Lanz at No. 7?)

Rick Blight, No. 10, 1975 (lots of early promise till his demons took over)

Dennis Ververgaert, No. 3, 1973 (26 goals as a rookie, 37 as a career-high, Lanny McDonald was picked next)

Don Lever, No. 3, 1972 (solid for Canucks, but who knew Steve Shutt, picked No. 4, would become Steve Shutt?)

THE BAD

Patrick White, No. 25, 2007 (get the Wite-Out)

R.J. Umberger, No. 16, 2001 (you want fries with that?)

Nathan Smith, No. 23, 2000 (Smith, Smith, heard the name before, let's take 'im)

Bryan Allen, No. 4, 1998 (not exactly Tyler Myers; Robyn Regehr and Jiri Fischler were available)

Brad Ference, No. 10, 1997 (250 NHL games, none as a Canuck)

Josh Holden, No. 12, 1996 (another centre, named Daniel Briere, was available)

Mike Wilson, No. 20, 1993 (not exactly Tyler Myers ... tall, lanky players who can skate backwards do not a D-man make)

Libor Polasek, No. 21, 1992 (Canucks took another centre, Mike Peca, at No. 40 - talk about ones who got away)

Alex Stojanov, No. 7, 1991 (but he turned into Markus Naslund)

Shawn Antoski, No. 18, 1990 (68 games as a Canuck, 3 points, 255 PIM, injury-prone)

Jason Herter, No. 8, 1989 (never played a game for the Canucks)

Dan Woodley, No. 7, 1986 (Cood-ley? Shoodley? Craig Janney was available)

Jim Sandlak, No. 4, 1985 (big body who played small - Mike Richter and Dave Manson were available)

J.J. Daigneault, No. 10, 1984 (when the player you pick hobbles to the stage in crutches with a leg in a cast, you probably want to melt into the background)

Michel Petit, No. 11, 1982 (along with Brent Ashton and J.J. Daigneault, the Canucks knew how to draft players who would become nicknamed "Suitcase")

Jere Gillis, No. 4, 1977 (78 goals, 385 NHL games; Mike Bossy was taken nine spots later)

Bob Dailey, No. 9, 1973 (ah, Rick Middleton was available)

Joceln Guevremontt, No. 3, 1971 (Rick Martin went two picks later, Larry Robinson in the second round)

Dale Tallon, No. 2, 1970 (yes, he was the No. 2 consensus pick after Gilbert Perrault.

But Reggie Leach went next, Rick MacLeish after that and Darryl Sit-tler No. 8)

THE UGLY (ONES THAT GOT AWAY)

Michael Grabner, No. 14, 2006 (traded for Keith Ballard)

Cam Neely, No. 9, 1983 (Um, ah, well, ahem ...)

Rick Vaive, No. 5, 1979 (Tiger Williams for a 50-goal scorer?)

Bill Derlago, No. 4, 1978 (Tiger Williams for a 40-goal scorer?)

HUNG JURY (TIME WILL TELL)

Nicklas Jensen, No. 29, 2011 (interesting potential)

Jordan Schroeder, No. 22, 2009 (Money says he'll never be a Canucks regular.)

Cody Hodgson, No. 10, 2008, (traded for Zack Kassian)

DRAFT ORDER

NHL entry draft, Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Friday, 5 p.m., TSN.

1. Edmonton Oilers

2. Columbus Blue Jackets

3. Montreal Canadiens

4. N.Y. Islanders

5. Toronto Maple Leafs

6. Anaheim Ducks

7. Minnesota Wild

8. Carolina Hurricanes

9. Winnipeg Jets

10. Tampa Bay Lightning

11. Washington Capitals (from

Colorado)

12. Buffalo Sabres

13. Dallas Stars

14. Calgary Flames

15. Ottawa Senators

16. Washington Capitals

17. San Jose Sharks

18. Chicago Blackhawks

19. Tampa Bay Lightning (from Detroit)

20. Philadelphia Flyers

21. Buffalo Sabres (from Nashville) 22. Pittsburgh Penguins

23. Florida Panthers

24. Boston Bruins

25. St. Louis Blues

26. Vancouver Canucks

27. Phoenix Coyotes

28. New York Rangers

29. New Jersey Devils

30. Los Angeles Kings

gordmcintyre@theprovince.com

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